Headucation Schools

Our annual Sock it to Stigma! campaign seeks to raise awareness about the stigma associated with mental health and the damage that stigma can cause by getting schools to talk about it.

Mental health can often feel like a daunting topic to tackle with school children, but it’s integral that they learn about it now to reduce stigma in the future. Here are 4 ways to start a conversation about mental health and stigma in your classroom.

Mental health classroom activities

Our #SockItToStigma activity pack can be a fun starting point to open up opportunities to speak about mental health, breaking the stigma around this serious subject.

This pack includes:

• Sock It To Stigma Fortune Teller – encourages children to take actions that can teach them about mental health and make them more mindful of others
• Sock It To Stigma Happy Cube – helps children to think about things that make them happy when they feel low
• Sock It To Stigma Word Search – teaches children important words related to mental health so they become familiar rather than scary or taboo
• Sock It To Sigma Feeling Cards – children can create cards to more easily demonstrate and communicate how they are feeling without fear of judgement or misinterpretation

Our activity pack also includes fabulous creative exercises that you can share on social media to show that your school will #SockItToStigma and encourage open conversations about mental health.

Download our Activity Pack

Start a conversation about mental health

One of the simplest ways to make sure mental health is talked about in your classroom is to start the conversation yourself.

By starting conversations with children about mental health, you can help to increase their awareness, reduce stigma and fear of judgement, and increase the likelihood that they’ll seek treatment when needed sooner rather than later.

Some great icebreakers include:

“Tell me about a time when you were happy/sad/stressed…”

“How well do you feel on a scale of 1-10?”

Adults can often feel uncomfortable talking to children about mental health or fear saying something “wrong”, so here are our top tips for talking to children about mental health.

Mental Health Animations & Videos

What child doesn’t love watching videos at school? They can be a great tool to communicate basic mental health information to children before starting a conversation or mental health activity.

The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families has created some great video resources to help children learn about mental health, including:

• Talking Mental Health
• Everyone Has Mental Health

Read about mental health

Books can be a great way to get children thinking and talking about mental health in a more comfortable classroom environment.

By using literature, the questions and conversations around mental health can be focused on the characters in the books – taking pressure off shy and nervous children who may not wish to discuss their own mental health with others in the classroom.

Mental health books can also help children to develop an understanding of feelings and mental health conditions that they have never experienced themselves, which in turn can improve their empathy and reduce stigma around mental health in the future.

Trigger Publishing have a wide range of children’s mental health books from fun illustrated short tales designed for primary school children to longer features better suited for older children.

Of course, teachers cannot do any of this without the proper training. Our #Headucation campaign aims to train all UK teachers in the basics of mental health support which will allow them to comfortably provide children with the support they need.

All funds raised during #SockItToStigma will go straight into our #Headucation fund. Right now, schools have to pay for mental health training themselves since it isn’t considered “mandatory” by the government – we want to provide as many fully-funded training sessions as possible.

Help us raise money by donating, buying a product from our store or signing up for one of our training courses.

1 in 6 school-aged children develop a common mental health condition, yet at present teachers receive no training to support children’s mental health.

As part of our Headucation campaign, we’re aiming to train teachers in the basics of mental health so that they can provide early intervention to children and support the development of positive mental health.

Without sufficient training, teachers may feel unprepared to deal with common mental health conditions that children experience and that have an impact on their education. We want to help teachers to feel more confident and prepared. Here are some common mental health conditions you may see in children and some initial steps you can take to support them.

Anxiety in schools

Anxiety is incredibly common in children and may be more common in particular situations such as public speaking, demonstrations and socialising. Some children may experience anxiety so severe or frequent that it disrupts their daily lives.

Signs of anxiety in school

Some common signs of anxiety in children can include poor performance, irritability and even physical manifestations like stomach aches. Find out more about the signs of anxiety in children.

How to support anxiety in school

1. Help children face their fears by helping them identify what is making them anxious and help them to develop strategies for coping
2. Ask questions about previous experiences to help them uncover triggers and emotions linked to the anxiety-inducing situation
3. Celebrate small wins with pupils when they take a step towards facing their anxiety
4. Talk openly about anxiety with all children to reduce stigma and encourage them to seek help

ADHD in schools

ADHD describes children who demonstrate overactive and impulsive behaviours as well as difficulties concentrating and paying attention. It is thought that 2-5% of children have ADHD in the UK. Without proper support, ADHD can make it difficult for children to achieve high grades, build relationships and develop high self-esteem.

Signs of ADHD in school

Common signs of ADHD in school children include forgetfulness, difficulty focusing on and completing tasks, fidgeting and interrupting.

How to support ADHD in school

1. Find opportunities for children to walk around the classroom during lessons, e.g. games, writing things on the whiteboard or regular breaks
2. Give children more time to process information before responding by outlining the lesson prior to starting
3. Break work into smaller chunks so that there is less to focus on at once
4. Use special phrases that grab attention and stimulate interest, e.g. “wait for it”, “here we go”, or “the next part is really interesting”
5. Develop your knowledge and understanding of ADHD with courses and training

Eating Disorders in schools

Eating disorders can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or background – despite the stereotypes that exist in the media. Eating disorders are often associated with severely limiting one’s food intake or purging after eating through laxatives or inducing vomiting – however it can also include eating extreme quantities of food at once, excessive fasting, excessive exercise in response to food intake or any combination of these behaviours.

Most eating disorders start in childhood or adolescence, so schools can play a crucial part in spotting the signs and providing early intervention.

Signs of eating disorders in schools

Children and young people with eating disorders may skip meals, avoid eating around others, disappear after mealtimes and even display physical symptoms of malnutrition including thinning hair and dry skin.

How to support eating disorders in schools

1. Educate yourself about eating disorders to better understand the signs, symptoms and help available. (Why not take a look at our online course on eating disorders?)
2. Talk openly about eating disorders to reduce stigma and encourage children to seek help
3. Share tools and resources that children can use to access support when they need it. Beat is an incredible eating disorder charity with great support for young people.
4. Discuss any concerns you have with your school’s safeguarding lead as well as the child’s parent/carer

Insecure attachment in schools

Attachment is a complex psychological theory around the bonds formed between children and their primary caregiver(s). Insecure attachments are formed when a child has a negative or poor bond with their caregiver that is often a result of the home environment being a source of fear rather than safety. Insecure attachments in school children can lead to disruptive behaviour and difficulty forming relationships in later life.

Signs of insecure attachment

Many children with insecure attachments do not feel safe around other people and as such may refuse to ask for help, avoid social situations and elicit inappropriate responses to emotional situations (e.g. laughing when someone is in pain).

How to support insecure attachment in schools

1. Build positive relationships with the child that help them feel safe, enabling you to work on any behavioural issues they display
2. Engage with other adults in their life to understand what is causing the child to feel this way
3. Discuss the attachment issues with a professional or undertake training in attachment theory

Depression and low mood in school

It is normal for a child (or adult) to not feel 100% happy all the time and to experience times when they feel irritable with little pleasure of motivation. However, if someone feels this way consistently for longer than two weeks, they may be suffering with depression or low mood.

Signs of depression in school

Depression can be caused by many factors including bullying and exam stress – common signs of depression in children include irritability, not wanting to attend school and losing interest in things they once enjoyed.

How to support depression in schools

1. Educate yourself so that you can fully understand how children with depression may feel and act
2. Signpost to professional resources that can help children understand their own mental health
3. Express an interest in how they are feeling so that they know they can talk to you (or another member of staff they may feel more comfortable with)
4. Share any concerns with other wellbeing leaders within the school who can take the appropriate next steps

Take a look at our online self-led course Understanding Depression or get in touch to discuss mental health training for teachers through #Headucation.

Teachers and schools play a vital role in the support of mental health conditions in children but they need more help to do it effectively. Help us raise money for Headucation so we can provide fully-funded mental health training to schools that will enable their teachers to act as first responders and support children in the early stages of mental health conditions.

The anxiety about going back to school this year has been amplified by the anxiety that comes with getting ‘back to normal’ after the COVID-19 pandemic. Children already have enough to cope with but over two-thirds of young people believe the pandemic will have a long-term negative effect on their mental health.

Back to school anxiety has been more prevalent over the last year as children have spent more time at home than ever before but getting back to normal may also cause an increase in health anxiety, separation anxiety and social anxiety.

Children may be concerned for their physical health when going out into the world with others, uncomfortable in social situations they haven’t had to handle in over a year and fearful of spending time away from families they’ve been closer to during the pandemic.

Whether you’re a parent, carer or teacher, as a respected adult figure in their lives, there are some things you can do to improve mental health in schools as children get back to normal.

Encourage conversations about mental health

Children who do not feel as though they can express themselves can bottle up their feelings, leaving them to fester and build up in their minds until the worries become unbearable. By talking openly about your mental health and asking children about how they’re feeling you can encourage them to speak up when something is bothering them. You can also share mental health resources that children and young people can use to develop their understanding and confidence around mental health.

Try not to ask leading questions as this may result in false answers or cause more concerns e.g. “Are you worried about mixing with people again at school?” may give children the impression there is something to worry about while “Is there anything you’re worried about?” gives children the chance to share their uninfluenced concerns.

As much as you can do to encourage conversations about mental health and let children know you’re there to talk, there may be some who will not come forward. In these cases, it’s important to look out for signs of anxiety in children so that you can take appropriate action and intervene if needed.

Practice getting used to new situations

Anxiety is often accompanied by fearing the worst of a new situation – therefore the logical solution is to expose ourselves to that situation so it is no longer new and scary and we know what to expect. The same goes for children returning to school and getting back to normal. The more they get used to a situation, the less they have to worry about.

Gael Lindenfield, psychotherapist and the author of How to Feel Good in Difficult Times has some great advice about handling post-pandemic anxiety that perfectly applies to children. She advises breaking down situations that seem like major challenges into smaller manageable steps.

For example, if a child shows anxiety about spending break times outside with the whole school, start by having break times with a smaller group of people either indoors or in a quieter part of the playground. This will allow them to get used to the idea of spending time with more people until they feel confident and calm enough to join the whole school.

Build a routine

Similarly to practising new situations, routines enable children to know what to expect and prepare themselves for anything they may find worrying. While schools have a timetable they stick to, other parts of the day can help to build a calming routine for children including

• Getting ready for school – e.g. knowing when to wake up and what steps to take
• Travelling to school – e.g. how and when they travel every day
• Break time routines – e.g. who do they spend time with and where
• Lunchtime routines – e.g. when and what do they eat
• After-school activities – e.g. sports, homework and socialising

Learn calming techniques

As much as we try to prevent anxiety in children, there will likely still be occasions where it builds up and children need help calming down. While severe cases may need a professional, it’s helpful for anyone who spends a lot of time with children to learn some basic calming techniques for anxiety.

Trigger has provided some great techniques from Cheryl Rickman in this article on back to normal anxiety, including using cognitive tasks to give your brain something else to focus on and carry out. You can use this with children by asking them to count back from 100 in sevens or name as many animals as they can think of from A-Z.

If you’re interested in learning more techniques to support anxiety and children’s mental health, why not purchase one of our training courses? All proceeds go to #Headucation2025 to train teachers in the basics of mental health support.

Our #Headucation campaign aims to train all UK teachers in the basics of mental health support by 2025 which will allow them to comfortably provide children with the support they need.

Right now, schools have to pay for mental health training themselves since it isn’t considered “mandatory” by the government – we want to provide as many fully-funded training sessions as possible. Help us raise money by donating, buying a product from our store or signing up for one of our training courses.

After parents and carers, teachers spend more time with children than anyone else which puts them in a perfect position to identify problems and help children solve them. Particularly with mental health, teachers are in the unique position of being able to identify, education and support students with mental health challenges.

With 1 in 6 school-aged children struggling with a common mental health condition, what can teachers do to help?

Spot the signs of mental health struggles

Knowing what signs of deteriorating mental health to look out for in children can help teachers to intervene (or instruct another authority to) before the child’s mental health reaches dangerous levels.

Make appropriate referrals

While teachers are an integral part of the process, there is no expectation that they are the whole solution to improving mental health in children: in many cases, teachers will need to signpost them to other resources or refer them for professional support.

The key here is that they make appropriate recommendations even before children reach a stage where they need clinical support – simply recommending some popular mental health resources for the children themselves can be a huge help for a student who is starting to struggle.

Facilitate mental health support in the classroom

Knowing what factors make a child more likely to develop a mental health condition can enable teachers to make adjustments in the classroom that can prevent conditions from developing further. E.g. if you know a child has recently been through a large transition like moving house, you can reduce the number of changes you make within the classroom that can contribute to their stress and anxiety.

Create a safe space to discuss mental health issues

While it may have lessened over the last few years, there is still a lot of stigma around mental health which can hold both adults and children back from talking about their struggles. Every year in February, we run our #SockItToStigma campaign which aims to get children openly discussing mental health and strengthen the notion that it’s ok to talk about it. Teachers need to continue this throughout the rest of the year so that students will be more likely to open up to staff and friends about mental health struggles and seek support.

Of course, teachers cannot do any of this without the proper training. Our #Headucation2025 campaign aims to train 150,000 teachers in the basics of mental health support by 2025 which will allow them to support 2.5 million children every year!

Right now, schools have to pay for mental health training themselves since it isn’t considered “mandatory” by the government – we want to provide as many fully-funded training sessions as possible. It costs £100 to train each teacher – help us raise money by donating, buying a product from our store or signing up for one of our training courses.

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Mental health training for teachers has never been more critical: 1 in 6 school age children have a mental health problem and over two thirds of young people believe that lockdown will have a negative impact on their mental health long term.

While mental health education in schools became compulsory from September 2020 as a result of our initial Headucation campaign, mental health training for teachers has not.
As part of our Headucation campaign, Shawmind aims to train  teachers in the basics of mental health support enabling them to support children in the UK.

Why do teachers need mental health training?

Children and teens are struggling with mental health

Suicide is the third leading cause of death in 15-19-year-olds and depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability in young people. With 75% of diagnosable mental health conditions being present before the age of 18, being able to spot the signs and provide appropriate support will help to reduce the rates of suicide and depression as children age. Aside from parents, teachers and education staff are the adults with the most frequent and regular contact with children which places them in a position to observe signs and situations that could signal a mental health problem.

Untreated mental health can significantly worsen a child’s life

Without proper support, poor mental health contributes to several other problems in school children including poor attendance, disruptive behaviour and difficulties communication all of which can impact long term academic performance and the ability to build relationships with other children. So not only can mental health training for teachers improve the lives of the children they teach, it can also help to improve and maintain the reputation of their school and students.

Teachers are under extreme mental pressure

Not only that, but teachers themselves are facing significant pressures and the resulting burnout has caused many to leave the profession. Providing adequate mental health training will also give teachers the tools to manage their own mental health.

Benefits of mental health training for teachers

Our mental health training for teachers will help them to:

• Understand and define mental health, wellbeing and stigma
• Understand signs and symptoms of some of the most common mental illnesses, including; anxiety, stress, depression, OCD, substance misuse and suicide
• Understand how to give support to someone struggling
• Understand the recovery process

If you’re a teacher or school leader interested in mental health training, please get in touch with us. Your school could be eligible for fully-funded mental health training.

Help us achieve our goal. Donate now or purchase one of our training programmes (all profits from our training programmes go towards our Headucation campaign).

Donate

Training

1 in 6 school-aged children has a mental health problem, and 75% of diagnosable mental health conditions are present before the age of 18. In 2017 we raised 103,000 signatures during our Headucation campaign for a parliamentary debate which led to compulsory mental health education in schools from the September 2020 school year. Despite this, teachers receive no compulsory mental health training, which has left them feeling overwhelmed and unequipped to support the children under their supervision.

Poor mental health can lead to serious problems in school including low attendance, poor grades and disruptive behaviour, therefore it’s crucial – not only for a child’s wellbeing, but also for their education and social development – that teachers know how to support common mental health challenges.

Our Headucation 2025 campaign aims to train 150,000 teachers in the basics of mental health support by 2025 – as part of this campaign we want to educate teaching staff about what can put children at higher risk of developing a mental health condition.

Bullying

Being the victim of bullying can massively affect a person’s mental health, as can being the bully themselves. Those involved in bullying are at a higher risk of developing long term anxiety or depression as a result of the experience. While many educators place an emphasis on preventing bullying in the first place, consideration also needs to be put into looking after the wellbeing of those who have been bullied already.

Abuse

Those who suffer abuse, whether from friends or family, may experience mental distress as well as physical pain. They may require counselling or additional support in school to ensure they have the space to recover from their traumatic experience.

Bereavement

At any age, we are all saddened by the loss of a loved one – but for a child this can be a particularly distressing and overwhelming experience. Children may experience a range of emotions and exhibit abnormal behaviours – if not dealt with correctly, these can lead to long term mental health conditions and behavioural problems. Ensure your school has the proper training in place in to handle bereavement or reach out to a children’s bereavement organisation.

Substance abuse

Many teenagers turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the difficulties that come with transitioning to adulthood. While substance abuse in itself is a serious problem, it can also severely impact a young person’s mental health by inhibiting key developmental processes and distorting their view on reality. Some teens even turn to substances as a way to cope with their existing mental health struggles so it’s not only a risk factor, but a sign of poor mental health.

Difficult home situations

Difficult home situations like divorce or arguments between family members can be incredibly stressful and upsetting for children. Schools may need to provide extra support to children in these situations who are at risk of suffering from long term stress, anxiety or depression.

Moving house or school

Large transitions like moving house or school may be difficult for some children to handle. Many may display changes in their behaviour or academic performance in response to these transitions – often these changes are actually caused by mental health challenges, e.g. stress or anxiety, triggered by the move. If a new child is joining your school or an existing pupil is moving house, consider providing additional support to help them manage their mental wellbeing.

Pre-existing conditions

Conditions such as ADHD or autism will likely already be receiving extra attention in schools to support children with their academic development. However, these children are also at a higher risk of developing mental health conditions than other children. It’s important that attention is paid to supporting their mental health and developing practical skills that can help them with challenges later in life.

Shawmind is dedicating itself to training 150,000 teachers by 2025 in the basics of mental health support at no cost to the school. That means we aim to equip mental health first responders who will reach 2.5-million school children.

If you’re a teacher or school leader interested in mental health training, please get in touch with us. Your school could be eligible for fully-funded mental health training.

Help us achieve our goal. Donate now or purchase one of our training programmes (all profits from our training programmes go towards our Headucation 2025 campaign).

Donate

Training

Get in touch